R Senapati to head Odisha's 5th State Finance Commission

The Odisha government has formed the fifth State Finance Commission headed by retired IAS officer and former State Election Commissioner Rabinarayan Senapati as its chairman, a notification today said.

The commission will identify assignment of taxes to be levied by urban local bodies (ULBs) and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and recommend what percentage of the states own taxes are to be shared with these institutions.

According to the notification, the commission will also recommend the ways and means for devolution of resources from the state level to ULBs and PRIs for five years and suggest measures to empower these institutions.

The recommendations of the fifth State Finance Commission should be valid for five years commencing from April 1, 2020.

It will have five members including former professor and head of the commerce department of Utkal University Samson Maharana, retired OAS officer and former Director, Municipal Administration, Sanjib Kumar Mishra and Dr Asit Mohanty, professor of Xavier Institute of Management.

Secretary of the Panchayati Raj D K Singh will act as the associated member of the commission.

While the first State Finance Commission was headed by Justice S K Mohanty, former MP Trilochan Kanungo was the chairman of the second Finance Commission. Noted economist Sudhakar Panda and retired IAS officer Chinmay Basu were the chairmen of the third and fourth Finance Commission, respectively.